The Unwritten 3
by sasu haku gaara 16
Summary: You have stumbled upon another unwritten adventure of the Lyoko team. In this story: Friends, Foes, and Fights! This is the third in my series, The Unwritten. Please read it first. Rated T for romance, barely any language. SakuraxOdd, UxY, JxA. R&R!
1. Friends

Message from the Author:

Welcome to the third book of my series, The Unwritten. If you have not done so, please read my previous stories, The Unwritten and The Unwritten 2, before continuing on to this one. However, if you have done so, I applaud you and thank you for your support!

Disclaimer: Please don't ask me if I own Code Lyoko, because I don't.

~ sasu haku gaara 16

**The Unwritten 3**

**Chapter One – Friends:**

"Onee-chan!" Sakura called. (A/N: Onee-chan is Yumi's new nickname.) "Samurai! Rookie! Tiger! Assume battle stations! Three kankrelats and two blocks closing in!" The gang surrounded Aelita and readied themselves for battle.

Odd grinned. "I feel like Wolverine! Off X-Men!"

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Well, I feel like Robin. Off Teen Titans."

Sam frowned. "I feel like Cyborg."

Sakura patted Sam on the back. "It's ok, Cyborg was always my favorite."

"Really?"

"Nope!"

Sam glared at Sakura, who soon turned expressionless. "I feel like Sakura…" The gang looked curiously, and some laughed. Sakura rolled her eyes. "Off Naruto, guys!"

Yumi smirked. "Me too."

Sakura face got serious again. She pressed her tattoo to send out her thoughts. "_Here they come_." She released it. "TITANS! GO!" The team rolled their eyes. "No, seriously. Ready, team? ATTACK!"

(A/N: "As I'm sure you've noticed, most of the history of the [Code Lyoko team] is organized sequentially, a word which here means 'so that the events in the lives of [the gang] are related in the order in which they occurred.' In the case of the next [5 stories], however, the story is organized simultaneously, which means that you do not have to read the [stories] in the order in which they appear.")

Sakura

A kankrelat shot at Sakura. She did a front flip off the ground, and neatly dodged the shot. She was glad she had decided to be in cheerleading years ago. She reached into her pocket and grabbed a "cherriken," as she liked to call them. She threw one at the target and missed. She grimaced. "Screw it," she spat. She pulled out her pistols, jumping to dodge another shot. She fired, destroying the monster. She studied another cherriken. "Training time."

Yumi

Yumi did a quick bridge to avoid the kankrelat's laser. She was glad all those martial arts lessons improved her flexibility. She reached in her pocket and grabbed a shuriken. She threw it a little left, expecting it to curve around like her fans, but instead it went straight and missed. She grimaced. "Screw it," she murmured. She pulled out her fans and tried again, hitting it this time. She scrutinized another shuriken. "Training time."

Ulrich

Ulrich bent around, doing a quick matrix as he escaped the block's icy blast. He was glad all those martial arts lessons improved his flexibility. He took a grenade from his pocket. He threw it, his mind already calculating the exact force necessary to propel his sword, not a grenade, which resulted in him overthrowing it. He grimaced. "Screw it," he grumbled. He pulled out his sword and jumped to the right target., stabbing the block. It exploded. Then, he took a second grenade and examined it. "Training time."

Sam

Sam did a backflip, barely missing the block's freeze ray. She was glad she was in gymnastics as a kid. She stuck her blade into the wrong target, and the creature prepared to attack again. She grimaced. "Screw it," she mumbled. She charged her arm cannon. She hit the deck just in time as the shot just grazed her head. She fired her cannon and and blasted the block into pieces. She inspected her blade. "Training time."

Odd

Odd tried to evade the kankrelat's laser, but was hit in the leg. He wished he was in some kind of sport. "_Careful Odd_," Sakura thought to him. He sharpened and grew out his fingernails, staying a safe distance away. He could only get them 60 cm (approx. 2 ft) long, and the target was at least 121 (approx. 4 ft) cm away. He concentrated hard, but could only get them 3 cm (about 1 in) longer. He grimaced, "Screw it," he muttered. He shot an arrow at the kankrelat, which was shooting a laser at him. The arrow hit the kankrelat which exploded. He looked at his claws, and had time to utter two last words before he burst into pieces also. "Training time."

(A/N: "At this point, the history of the [team] reverts to its sequential format, and if you are interested in reading the story, you should read the [story] in the order in which [it] appears…" This quote, and its predecessor belong to Lemony Snicket, and not I. You should read his books if you haven't already. They're amazing.)

Sakura saw Odd disappear. "ODD," she cried. Everyone hung their heads. Sam heard a noise behind her and turned around. "Uhh… guys? I hate to interrupt the grief and agony, but… this bowling ball thing with the XANA symbol on it doesn't look too friendly."

Sakura gasped. "MEGATANK!!! Samurai! Run Aelita to the tower. Get ready everybody!"

The megatank opened up as Ulrich yelled "Super sprint!" The megatank hit Ulrich, who was carrying Aelita. He shattered into white particles, and Aelita fell to the ground.

"_Aelita! Are you okay_?" Sakura thought to her.

"_I'm fine_," Aelita thought back.

Sakura grimaced. _Kso! It killed all our guys_.

Yumi growled at the megatank. "Kill this, _baka_." She threw her fan at the megatank. It rolled back and exploded. They cheered.

Sakura looked up. "_Hurry Aelita. Jeremie must be in trouble. He hasn't said anything_."

Aelita nodded and took of to the tower, where she entered the vital word. Jeremie, who was hanging from the ceiling fan to avoid snakes, called "Return to the past now!"

Once again in the supercomputer room, the crew relaxed as their minds cleared up. Jeremie smiled. "Thanks guys."

Sakura smiled. "It was all thanks to Sam. She saw the megatank. You know what? You're not really a rookie anymore… but you're still learning, so I think I'll call you… Padawan."

Sam rolled her eyes. "So it's Star Wars now."

They laughed. Jeremie smiled awkwardly. "Well, thanks Sam. I don't think I could've held on to the ceiling fan much longer."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. "So let me get this straight. While we were out there busting our butts, you were making friends with the furniture?"

"Well, I was trying to avoid getting bitten by 500 snakes."

Sakura turned to Ulrich and Odd. "What were you two doing?"

Ulrich shrugged. "We stayed in the scanner room. We don't like snakes either." Sakura clucked like a chicken. "Well, we didn't have any weapons!"

Sakura's eyes widened. "Oh, Jeremie! Speaking of which, we need to go back to Lyoko to do a bit of training. I don't think we _quite_ have a handle on our new weapons yet." The gang nodded.

Jeremie sighed. "Okay. Everyone but Aelita, go to the scanners. I'll get you virtualized again."

Sakura grinned. "Come on, team! Training time!"

Ulrich groaned. "I take it back. **You** are Robin."

Sakura beamed. "Duh."

They trained with their weapons for about an hour.

"Okay guys," Jeremie said. "That's enough. But we can't handle another return to the past. You know what **that** means."

Odd clutched at his heart. "Sakura! The kankrelat venom! It's spreading to my heart! I'll be a monster in no time! You have to kill me now!" His claws grew out. "Hurry," he choked.

"I can't." Sakura said weakly.

Ulrich grimaced. "If you won't, I will." Then, he stabbed Odd. Sam gasped as Odd vanished.

Ulrich started trembling, and sank to his knees. "What have I done? My best friend. My brother. I murdered him."

"You had to," Yumi reassured him. "He would have killed us all."

"But homocide makes me a monster too. Kill me, Yumi. I cannot bear to live." Sam's eyes widened.

"I can't kill you either. I love you."

Sam glared. "I can," she said simply, and blasted Ulrich.

"NO!!!" Yumi screamed, eyes filled with rage and agony. "You killed him! YOU KILLED HIM!!! YOU… MUST… DIE!!!" She threw her fan at Sam, who disappeared.

"You _didn't_." Sakura gasped.

"I did," Yumi said sourly.

"How could you?"

"You betrayed us, letting that murderer on our team."

"Murderer? You're the murderer! You killed my best friend."

"You dare to only call me a murderer? What about my Ulrich? He killed your beloved Odd! If I'm a murderer, then why don't you call him a murderer?"

"Because he regretted it, at least! But you… you feel nothing. She was your teammate. She was my best friend. I was your sister. Does any of that make you regret?"

"No. No sister of mine is a traitor."

"Fine. No sister of mine is a murderer. I will avenge you, Sam." Sakura pulled a pistol and destroyed Yumi.

Sakura fell to the ground, in tears. She looked at the empty space ahead of her. "Nothing… I have nothing left… My beloved is gone… Ulrich killed him… My best friend is dead… Yumi betrayed me… I cannot live either." She opened her mouth and shot herself.

When Sakura stepped out of the elevator, the whole gang cracked up.

Yumi smiled. "That never gets old."

Sam nodded. "That was cool. At first I was scared, but I finally got it."

Odd smiled. "Nice acting, Blossom. I heard your monologue."

Sakura beamed. "I didn't take acting classes for nothing."

Yumi looked at her, smiled, and offered her hand. "Friends?"

Sakura smiled back and took it. "Friends."

----------

I liked that chapter. What did you think? R&R and tell me!


	2. In Your Dreams

**Chapter Two - In Your Dreams**

Jeremie woke up, surprisingly, without his alarm. He took a look at his clock. _Hmm… That's weird. The battery must be dead._ He removed a brand new pair of batteries from their package, threw out the ones from the clock, and replaced them. He looked at the clock again. _Ugh… Whatever. I'll fix it later. _He got up and put on some decent clothes. He logged onto his laptop. _12:00 a.m.? That's wrong… What, is Father Time poking some fun or something?_ He sighed and closed his laptop. His watch said the same thing. He decided to go check it out. He ran to Ulrich's and Odd's dorm. He knocked softly. Ulrich answered, rubbing his eyes, just in his green, checkered boxers.

"Jeremie," Ulrich stated. "What are you doing here so early? XANA trouble or something?"

"Possibly, but I'm not sure. It sounds a little weird, even for XANA."

Ulrich's face scrunched up. "So… What is it?"

"What time is it, Ulrich?"

Ulrich pulled his cell phone out of his drawer. "Uh… midnight?"

"Ulrich, look outside."

Ulrich drew the blinds. The sky was filled with pinks and purples, oranges and blues. Sunrise.

"Well, maybe it's the satellites."

Jeremie shook his head. "I don't think so. My alarm clock wasn't working at all today."

Ulrich looked at Jeremie impatiently. "So what? Do you think it's XANA?"

"It's the most likely possibility."

"But why… excuse me." Ulrich yawned. "Sorry. Why would XANA do something so pointless? Compared to the Godzilla that XANA usually brings out, this is like… a gecko. Is he pulling a prank? Like, does XANA have a sense of humor or something?"

Jeremie chuckled. "Maybe so. But following XANA's usual pattern of thought, it's most likely a divergence or something. A distraction from something a lot bigger." Ulrich stared at Jeremie. "What?"

"Well, why don't you search for an activated tower, genius?"

Jeremie went agape. "I can't believe I forgot!" He set the laptop down and started sorting through the towers. Finally, he discovered a red one. "Found it. Ulrich, call the girls and wake them up. Tell them XANA has launched an attack."

Ulrich snorted. "Yeah, I was going to tell them we won tickets to the French Open."

Jeremie rolled his eyes, exasperated. While Ulrich dialed Yumi's number, Jeremie picked up a shoe and launched it at Odd. "ULRICH…" Odd grumbled. Ulrich pointed at Jeremie. "Oh, Jeremie?" Odd looked at Ulrich and saw that he was on the phone. Odd turned back to Jeremie. "XANA?"

Jeremie nodded. "I'm going to the factory to prepare, okay? Meet me there ASAP. This may seem harmless, but I don't want to take any chances. Treat this as seriously as any other mission."

Odd watched Jeremie leave. "Harmless," he wondered aloud.

Ulrich glanced at him. "XANA decided to pull a prank."

Odd grinned. "I like this XANA."

Ulrich rolled his eyes. "Make yourself useful and call your girlfriend, will you?"

"Sir, yes sir!"

Sakura woke up to her phone's ringtone. _Is it time for school already?_ She looked out the window. _Sunrise? Then is someone calling?_ She reached for her phone and missed the first time. She was finally able to grab it and answered as soon as she could. "Odd? Why are you calling so early…? Huh…? Ugh… Okay… See you soon… Love you too… Bye." Sakura sighed and shook Sam. "Sam, XANA attack. Come on." They both got dressed and rushed out the door.

Sakura entered 4414416, and the doors whooshed open. "Jeremie. What's going on?"

"Just get in the scanners. I want to stop the attack before it really starts."

Sakura's eyebrows pinched together. She and Sam looked at each other. Sakura shrugged, and the two went to the scanners.

Sakura and Sam fell to the ground, landing on their behinds this time.

"At least it's better than landing on your face," Sam remarked.

Sakura smiled. "True that." The girls walked to the guys. "So… what's the sitch? Or is there one?"

Odd shrugged. "Ask him," he said, pointing at Ulrich. "He's the one that woke me… Actually it was Jeremie… I'm gonna get you for that, Jer!"

Sakura looked at Ulrich. "Apparently XANA has manipulated all the clocks in the world to read midnight."

"What? Is that such a bad thing that you need to wake us up this early?"

"Well, Jeremie thinks it might be a cover for something bigger, knowing XANA."

Sakura nodded. _So that's what he meant…_

Suddenly, a swarm of hornets appeared. Sakura pressed her tattoo. "_Sam, this might be a little difficult for you, so try really hard. You might see if you can deflect their lasers with your blade. Samurai, that goes double for you. Deflect with your sword. Odd, you're fine. Move out._"

Sam charged up her cannon. She blasted her energy at the hornets, but they were too quick for her. She popped out her blade and readied it. She dodged one beam, deflected another, but got hit with a third. "Crap."

Jeremie sighed. "Sam, it's okay. Just don't get hit again or you'll lose more life points."

Sam nodded. She charged up the cannon and tried again, this time succesfully.

Ulrich was also having a lot of trouble, just as Sakura had predicted. He launched a grenade at the hornets, and missed wide. The grenades were too small and too slow-moving to cause any damage. He focused his energy on defending himself. "Triplicate!"

Odd rode on his overboard. "_Sam, you might want to try using your overjet._" He launched an arrow at the hornet closest to him and destroyed it, while another hit him in the side.

"Careful, Odd," Jeremie warned.

"Jeremie, I'm doing my best here, okay? Hornets aren't the easiest things to fight."

Sakura shot in rapid succession at the hornets. Most shots missed, but a few hit. These hornets were smart, though. They had spread out over the virtual sky, so they were harder to target. Sakura had a great advantage over her teammates, though, because she could attack quickly. Soon, thanks to Sakura, there were only two left. "_Guys, let's team up. Sam and I, and Odd and Ulrich._"

Sam held Sakura's waist and flew her up to the hornet. Sakura took aim carefully and shot, but she was too careful. The hornet disappeared, but its laser remained. It hit Sam, and Sakura fell to the ground.

"No," Sakura whispered, as Sam burst into white particles.

Odd and Ulrich took care of the remaining hornet. Odd boarded over to where Sakura was kneeling. "Blossom, it's okay."

"She's going to hate herself. It's my fault. I took too much time."

"You took just as much as you needed. She was going to get struck eventually. We all did."

Sakura knew there was no point in arguing the matter. She looked up. "Sorry, Sam."

Sam walked over to the supercomputer. "Don't worry about it."

Sakura smiled. "Man," she said. "Where was Yumi when we needed her?"

"Sorry, Sakura," Yumi said.

Sakura jumped. "Geez, you scared me, Yumi. I might have attacked you, and that wouldn't have done any good."

Yumi laughed. Suddenly, a whole army of krabes appeared.

"What's with the welcoming committee," Sakura asked. "XANA must be in a good mood today."

"For sure," Ulrich remarked.

"Jeremie," Sakura called. "Status report."

"Aelita just arrived. I can't send her in, with conditions like that. Get rid of these krabes, will you?"

"I'd be more than willing," Sakura replied. "_Ulrich, this'll be your game. You still have one clone left. __They're all in rows. Just jump on their heads and stab them._"

Ulrich nodded. He and his duplicate got to work.

Sakura, Yumi, and Odd looked at each other and nodded once. They split up; Odd took the left side, Sakura and Yumi took the right. Odd used his overboard to glide over the monsters' heads and shoot arrows, while Sakura used Ulrich's method, shooting the vermin in the head. Soon enough, they had the whole militia exterminated.

"Okay Jeremie," Sakura called. "Send down the princess."

Just as Jeremie was about to virtualize Aelita, Ulrich said, "Hold that thought. XANA is in a really good mood today…"

Sakura groaned. "You know, I love Terminator as much as the next guy, but this is really starting to get annoying."

A mix of what seemed to be 30 creepers and tarantulas came crawling toward them. Since the krabes were so easy to defeat, Ulrich still had a clone left.

Sakura analyzed the team of monsters. "_There seem to be a significant amount of creepers, many more than there are tarantulas, which is a plus for us. Concentrate on attacking the tarantulas, since they seem to be exponentially more powerful than the creepers. Ulrich, if you can, cut off their cannons. Yumi too. When all the tarantulas are gone, then you can focus your attention to the creepers. Everyone got it? Okay, good. Go get those ugly creatures. Sakura out._" Ulrich and Yumi charged at the monsters. Yumi threw her fans, attempting to sever the weapons of the tarantula ahead of her. One missed, and the other succeeded.

Ulrich cut off the arms of his tarantula, then stabbed it. His clone managed to remove one of the arms of a tarantula, before being shot by the other. Ulrich shook his head and moved on to another. He was able to cut off both its arms; however, he was so focused on it that he didn't see the creeper's shot hit him. Luckily, he still had enough life points left to continue fighting, so the shot only made him even more aggravated – unfortunately for the monsters around him. _Thank God for triplication…_

Sakura and Odd shot from a distance. Because of this advantage, they were valuable to the team, so they had to be careful. Even though she had given the team orders to focus on the tarantulas, Sakura saw what had happened to Ulrich and rapidly fired upon the creepers. She was able to eliminate most of them before she even had to dodge a single shot. One of the tarantulas that the team hadn't gotten to yet shot at her; she moved and was able to dodge the laser by a millimeter. She quickly got back to shooting again, and had the monsters destroyed in minutes. However, her finger slipped, and Ulrich disappeared with the rest.

No one moved. Sakura turned white. "Shit."

Jeremie hit the desk. "Nice going, Sakura," he said condescendingly.

"It was a freaking accident! It could have happened to anyone! I defeated so many of those monsters! All I should hear coming from your mouth is gratitude."

"Sakura's right," Yumi interjected. "She made a mistake, but there's no need to be upset with her. We take it for granted that Sakura rarely ever causes accidents."

Ulrich appeared. "Don't be mad at her, Jeremie. And Sakura, you have a tendency to be hard on yourself, so… Relax. Everything's okay. Just concentrate on what you need to do. You're the best of all of us, but even the best make mistakes. All right?"

Sakura smiled internally. It wasn't like Ulrich to be so sensitive. She nodded. "Thank you, Ulrich."

"Jeremie," Aelita started timidly, "I think you should apologize to Sakura."

He stared at Aelita for a second, then sighed. "Sakura, I overreacted. I'm sorry. You are right about all of it. Thank you for everything you have done today and for this team. Please forgive me."

"Thanks, Weirdo. You're forgiven." Sakura paused, and a grin appeared on her face. "Even though I know Aelita forced you to apologize." Jeremie grumbled.

Odd ground his teeth. "Guys, a line of blocks on their way."

Sakura turned around. There must have been 40 blocks all in a line. "Will it ever end?"

"I don't know," Odd replied. "Blocks are my absolute favorite to fight, but this is just too much."

Yumi agreed.

Sakura sighed. "_I'll take the center. Yumi, take the left. Odd, take the right. We're all long distance fighters, so try to stay back as far as possible. It'll give you more reaction time. I'll probably finish pretty quickly, so I'll help you when I'm done, Yumi, since you'll probably have the most trouble. I'll try not to shoot any of you. Haha. Everyone, let's go!_"

Sakura was right. She finished her batch really early. She moved quickly to help Yumi. Odd was forced to do some acrobatics as the blocks attacked him ceaselessly. Thankfully, he could shoot in mid-air. He also still had his board, and could move fast. Too fast. He ran straight into a laser; even his cat-like reflexes weren't sharp enough to avoid it. Having already taken a hit previously, Odd devirtualized, leaving only two Lyoko warriors to take care of defeating the monsters.

"Come on, Yumi," Sakura said. "It's just you and me now."

Yumi nodded, and the two quickly eliminated the rest of the blocks.

"Please tell me that's it," Sakura groaned.

"Don't hate me if I'm wrong," Jeremie started, "but that appears to be it."

"Okay. Now will you send Aelita down?"

"Transfer. Scanner. Virtualization."

Aelita dropped to the ground. Sakura smiled. "Long time no see, Sweet Pea." She turned to Yumi. "_Okay, just because there appears to be no monsters, doesn't mean you should let your guard down. Have your weapons in hand. Look all around you. However, let's take advantage of the silence and ride to the tower._"

They were about 50 meters away from the tower, when two megatanks and the schyphozoa came out of nowhere. Sakura looked up. "Jeremie, I hate you." She pressed her tattoo. "_Yumi, you take care of the scyphozoa, but be sure to watch out for blasts from the megatanks. One is lethal._"

Yumi nodded. While she was waiting for the schyphozoa to put its tentacles on her teammate, she concentrated on a megatank. She missed it through the hole on its left side. "Dang it," she spat. Sakura was able to shoot one megatank while avoiding its blast. "_Nice going, Sakura!_"

"_Arigatou onee-chan. I'll take over from here. Go protect Sweet Pea._"

Yumi nodded and started walking toward Aelita. However, Sakura saw the megatank charging up, and shouted, "Yumi! Look out!" Yumi turned around but couldn't make it in time. Sakura dove for her, knowing full well that she was the kamikaze here. A meaningful sacrifice. She felt the burn of the laser blast and grimaced, just thankful that she could save Yumi. She waited to disintegrate, but nothing happened. "Jeremie, why am I not devirtualizing?"

Jeremie stared blankly. "I'm... not sure. I think it just grazed you. Most of your life points have been deducted, but you still have enough left to fight." The team marveled. They had never seen, in all their years, someone survive being hit by a megatank laser. Even the megatank seemed to be surprised.

Yumi grinned and pressed her tattoo. "_I have an idea._"

Sakura cocked her eyebrow, and watched Yumi's telekinesis. The megatank dropped of the ledge. Sakura gaped. "How did you do that?"

"I figured Franz upgraded our powers as well."

"So basically, you went on a hunch and had no idea if it would work."

"Basically," she grinned.

"Oh looky there. It's peanut butter _jelly_ time," Sakura said, pointing at the schyphozoa.

"I'll take care of it. Watch my back."

"Will do."

Yumi cut off the schyphozoa's tentacles, then helped Aelita to the tower. Thankfully, they had apparently worn out their welcome.

"Return to the past now."

Jeremie woke up with his alarm. He glanced at the time. He got dressed and waited outside for his friends at the bench, their usual custom.

Sakura and Sam were the first to arrive, whispering away.

"What are you two scheming?"

Sakura beamed. "Well..."

After everyone had arrived, Yumi walked up. She saw everyone laughing, as Odd was imitating various farm animals. "Hey guys," Yumi said. "What's so funny?"

"My Kitty-Kitty is just the most adorable thing ever," she cooed.

Odd smiled heartwarmingly. "With the exception of yourself, my darling."

They kissed, and the other members ignored them.

"They really love that game, don't they?"

"Game?" Aelita asked.

Jeremie smiled softly. "They like making everyone feel uncomfortable. Otherwise, they wouldn't act like that."

Sam had a look of realization. "So that's why..."

After they had finished making out, Sakura pouted. "Jewwy, you're so unfair. I wuv my Oddy-woddy."

"And I love you, my Blossom." They resumed their make-out session.

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "Things haven't changed much. Sakura is still the same."

"Speaking of changes," Yumi started, "wasn't that weird this morning? I mean, XANA doesn't usually behave like that."

Jeremie looked puzzled. "Like what?"

"Being all mysterious, just pulling useless tricks on us. And sending out groups of monsters. There must have been hundreds."

The rest of the team looked at each other.

Sakura cut in. "What's that you said, Yumi? I was a little... preoccupied." She winked at Odd.

"I said I thought this morning's attack," she made air quotes around attack, "was a little weird."

Sakura's eyebrows scrunched together. "What attack?"

"The one where XANA messed with all the clocks and sent out fleets of monsters in Lyoko."

Sakura laughed. "Right. As if XANA would be so stupid. Are you feeling okay, onee-chan?"

Yumi turned to Ulrich. "You were the one that woke me up. Sakura shot you, on accident, and you devirtualized."

Sakura and Ulrich exchanged a quick, meaningful glance. He turned his gaze back to Yumi, and made a concerned face. He grabbed her hands. "Maybe... you should take some time off. We can handle it. It seems like it's getting to you, if you're having such crazy nightmares."

"It wasn't a dream though."

Sakura scoffed. "Obviously it was, if I accidentally shot Ulrich. I would never make such a careless mistake."

"But it was so real. And you did something really cool too. You were hit by the megatank and survived."

Sakura grinned, "I did, huh?" Ulrich glared at her.

Aelita hugged her. "I think you're just exhausted. Ulrich might be right. A vacation wouldn't hurt. Out of all of us, you have the most stress, having to evade your parents all the time. Wouldn't it be nice to just relax from time to time?"

"But," Yumi started to protest.

Jeremie gave a sympathetic look. "Yumi. Let me ask you something. Did you wake up after the XANA attack happened?"

"Yes, but..."

"But what?" Jeremie asked.

"But it was after the return to the past! Because I was sleeping before the attack."

Odd walked to Yumi and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yumi. None of us remember it." He looked at her intensely, trying to convey the message.

"Fine," she conceded. "I'll accept that it was a dream. But I am NOT taking time off," she growled.

They all burst into laughter, even Ulrich had to join. Sakura grinned. "That's my girl."

They continued laughing, and Yumi's face got red. "You guys, that wasn't funny!"

They laughed once more. "Yes it was."

Ulrich smiled slyly. "You're kinda cute when you're angry."

She blushed even deeper. "You. Don't talk to me."

Ulrich pouted. "Aw, don't do that to me. Sakura blackmailed me."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. She's giving you and me Subdigitals tickets. Right, Sakura?"

"Oh, I don't know, Ulrich. You could have said a lot more." He gaped. "Just kidding, Samurai. I'll get you the tickets."

Yumi's glare faded a bit, and, slowly, she started to smile. "I guess it was a little funny, huh?"

Sakura beamed. "Try hilarious."

"I bet it was all your idea wasn't it?"

"Onee-chan knows best."

"So now that that's all cleared up..." Yumi started.

Sakura answered her previous question. "You're right. It was a crazy attack. I have never seen so many monsters in my life." Sakura's face lit up. "Hey! Maybe that's why..."

Jeremie stared at Sakura. "Elaborate, please."

"Maybe that's why he did something so trivial. Because he thought he could eliminate us with just the monsters? If you think about it, not many of us were left. And if he would have suceeded, no one would be left to guard Aelita."

Jeremie's eyes widened. "Sakura, I think that's the smartest thing you've ever said."

"Oh, give me some credit, Einstein. I may not be on your level, or Sweet Pea's, but I'm pretty intelligent. Anyway, wasn't that the most awesome thing you guys have ever seen? I totally showed those megatanks who was boss. Maybe this is more like the Matrix than I thought. Maybe I'm like, The One."

Ulrich snorted. "In your dreams."


	3. FastForward

**Chapter Three – Fast-Forward**

"Seriously, Odd! You know it has to happen." Sakura hmmphed.

He laughed softly. "I told you, I'm no good at these things. Everytime I do something like this, something goes wrong."

"I'm here now, so I balance out your bad luck. Try anyway. Please. For me?" Sakura made the puppy face with her hands folded together.

Odd looked away and sighed. "Fine, fine. You're doing most of the work though."

Sakura smiled triumphantly and kissed Odd.

Odd held up a finger. "Wait. I'll do it on one condition."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She knew what he was thinking. "Fine."

Odd half-smiled and took Sakura into his arms. "Go ahead."

She rolled her eyes and kissed him multiple times – first slow and soft, then short and sweet."

He grinned. "Condition fulfilled. I'll help you."

"Great! Now, help me think of how we should approach this. Of course it has to be coincidental or they're never going to agree to it."

"Hmm... First we have to think of the proper venue."

"Mmm, I love it when you use a broad vocabulary," she teased.

"I learned from the Grammar Queen."

"That you did. Venue, eh? We don't want to make it too awkward."

"Should we make a note?"

"Sure, I can do that. I know Aelita's handwriting."

"Good, cause I can't copy Jeremie's."

"Now what should it say? We can't make it too flirtatious or else Jeremie will know."

"Hmm. To meet her somewhere? Or confessing her feelings?"

"I would go with confessing, but it's really something they should do themselves. Although... if we leave it up to them, it may never happen. No, we need to leave it to them. It's much more meaningful when someone tells you personally."

"Should we try to talk them into it beforehand?"

"Nah, then they'll realize it. In fact, maybe we shouldn't leave a note. I don't want to go on a double date because that'll be too awkward for them." Sakura gasped. "I have an idea. Why don't we 'make plans' to go somewhere and have to ditch out when they're already there, and tell them to have fun in our stead? That way they won't suspect a thing."

"My brilliant Blossom. You're ingenious."

She beamed. "Ya sé."

"Huh?"

"Spanish for 'I know.'"

"You confuse me more now than before you left."

"I know, I confuse myself too. Am I American, Japanese, or French?"

"French by residence, Japanese and American by blood. My little mutt." He messed up her hair.

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway," she continued. "We still have yet to decide the _venue_. We need something that they wouldn't be able to resist staying at and having fun."

Odd started to smile, and Sakura caught on. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Sakura nodded. "The carnival?"

"No, I was thinking the Sahara desert."

She hit him. "That's perfect Odd. You have your moments, you know that?"

His eyes scrunched up as he grinned broadly.

"It's perfect because it's not awkward at all, and it's entertaining enough to where they wouldn't decide to leave too just because we couldn't come. Even if they don't confess that day, they still get to have fun together and be alone. Now we have to get the other two in on it."

Odd feigned astonishment and dread. "Da da da dummmm..."

"Oh, shush. It won't be that bad. Yumi is my sister, so she'll go along with it, and of course, Ulrich will go along with it because she's going along with it. It's easy. I swear, how did you live without me and my influential abilities? Was Jim hard on you?"

"Oh yeah, he was really bad. He would always find a reason to give us detention, and he would always try to follow us to see what we were doing. Maybe he thought we had you locked away or something. He took your absence pretty hard."

"How was Delmas?"

"Delmas was nice to us, since he knew your situation. I think he might've been nicer than usual, since we were going through a hard time, and since he knew we were friends of yours. He even defended us from Jim, and almost fired him. You really leave an impact on people, you know that?"

She smiled. "It's nice to know they missed me, but I'm sorry you had to suffer because of me."

"Don't be. You suffered more than the rest of us combined, I'm sure."

Sakura smiled grimly. "I wish I had kept in contact, but with everything going on..."

"There's no need to dwell on the past, love. It's all over with. We're just glad to have you back. To answer your question, I don't know how we lived without your influential abilities. You are really something." Odd kissed Sakura's nose, making her giggle.

"Well, there's no time to waste. I'm going to go find Yumi. Love you."

"I'm not coming with you?"

"It's something better talked about girl-to-girl." She stood frozen, her mouth agape.

"Sakura?"

"I had an idea. You know they don't like to be rude right? That's why I was trying to think of something that they wouldn't refuse even if we couldn't go."

"And...?"

"The way we can use their politeness to our advantage and ensure their attendance is..." Sakura's eyes were wide with excitement. "We buy tickets in advance. So we guilt-trip them into going, since we already paid for the tickets and we don't want them to be wasted. We keep our tickets, though. Foolproof, ne?"

"Blossom, you're awesome." He winked.

"Now all that's left is an excuse. I'll think of one with Yumi. You keep thinking too, and text me if you have any good ideas. Now, I'm off." With a kiss, she bounded off to find Yumi.

…

"Oneeeee-chan," Sakura sang.

"Hey Sakura," Yumi replied.

"How are you?"

"I'm fine. What's up."

"Well..." Sakura smiled slyly. She told Yumi of their plans to get Jeremie and Aelita to go on a date.

"Well, your plan seems pretty fool-proof, but I don't know. Don't you think it's pushing them too much?"

"Trust me, they need a push. You know that too. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? It's not like we're forcing them to confess or anything. They're just gonna have some fun at the carnival together."

"Although I'm sure you thought of making them confess," Yumi mumbled.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Sakura smiled innocently.

"Mmhmm. Fine, I'll agree to it. Before you start trying to beg.

Sakura grinned triumphantly. "Thank you! You're the best onee-chan in the world. I'm serious."

"So what should we use for an excuse?" Yumi wondered.

"Good question. How about that we're all sick? I can act sick first, and then you can get sick the day of?"

"What should we get sick with? It's not really flu season."

"Doesn't mean we can't still get it."

"True, but I have a better, more realistic idea."

"Which is?"

"My parents won't let me go, so Ulrich doesn't go either because he feels bad to go without me."

"And I can get sick?"

"You can still get sick. That way Odd can take care of you, Sam will stay with you too, and we'll all have excuses."

"Great idea, onee-chan! I can't wait. This is going to be awesome. I wish we could spy on them though, but let's not intrude. If something happens, then something happens. If not, oh well, there's always next time."

"True enough. I'll go tell Ulrich. I doubt if he'll like the idea, but I'll try to convince him."

"No doubt you'll succeed." Sakura winked and elbowed Yumi as she blushed slightly.

"Well, I'm going to find Ulrich and tell him about the plan. I'll let you know how it goes."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I'll go buy the tickets. Have fun with your boyfriend. But not too much."

Yumi rolled her eyes. "Ja ne."

"Chao."

…

Sakura turned excitedly to her boyfriend. "Kitty-Kitty, Ulrich said yes!"

"Great. Now let's buy the tickets."

Sakura pulled up the carnival's website and purchased 7 tickets, all for around 30 euros. "Not bad," she murmured.

"Did you already tell Sam?"

"Yup, she agreed to it. On the condition that I not drag her into it again," Sakura chuckled. "Just like her."

"I doubt either of you will follow through with that."

"Yeah, you're probably... Hey!"

Odd cracked up, while Sakura glowered at him. "Anyway," Odd said while calming down, "when are you planning on telling Jeremie and Aelita?"

"Whenever I see the whole gang next."

"All right. I hope everything goes well for you."

"Me too. The day they finally get together, will be a day for celebration."

Odd put on a faux mask of horror. "What are you going to do without people to hook up?"

"Hmm..." Sakura wondered. Suddenly, there was an evil glint in her eye. "Sam is still available. Better yet, she's never had a boyfriend."

"Poor Sam, already subject to your evil matchmaking."

"What is that supposed to mean? I like to think I make people happy."

"What about Jim? And every woman you tried to hook him up with?"

Sakura shuddered. "Maybe he's just not relationship material. Plus, I'm probably better suited to people my age."

"True. Speaking of hooking up," Odd winked.

"You're such a guy."

"That's why you love me."

"Mmhmm," Sakura said as she kissed Odd. "But I actually have to go. I have to help Sam with her schoolwork."

Odd groaned. "Spend the night again?"

"Friday."

"Tonight."

"FRIDAY."

"TONIGHT."

"FRIDAY!"

"TONIGHT!"

"Do you want me to take it back?"

Odd frowned. "No."

"Then Friday. Bye." She kissed his cheek and skipped off.

"No fair, Sakura! I'll get you back!"

She smiled without looking back and went back to her dorm room. "Hey Sam."

"Hey Sakura. Ready for homework?"

Sakura smiled. "Bring it."

The two studied French together for two hours. When they were finished, Sakura looked at the clock – it was 10:00p.m. – and sighed.

"I think I'm going over to Odd's tonight. He was practically begging me to come over."

"Have fun," Sam smiled slyly.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "See you."

Sakura ran to the back of the boys' dorm and knocked seven times in a specific rhythm – their secret knock. Odd smiled radiantly and hurried to the door. "I knew you'd come."

"Oh, did you now? Did you know I'd leave too?"

"Aw, don't be like that, Blossom. You know I love you. Ulrich's already asleep, _and_ his earplugs are in." Odd winked.

"You always make things sound way dirtier than they are."

"That's one of my many specialties."

"Many? Hmm. What are your others?"

He cackled and imitated the Wicked Witch of the West. "All in good time, my pretty. All in good time."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Come 'ere." He pulled her onto the bed. "Mmm... I missed you."

"I was gone for years and now a couple of hours kills you?"

He nodded. "Mmhmm."

"Well, I'm here now to bring you back from the dead."

"You know there's only one way to do that." He put on a sexy smile.

"Oh, really?"

He nodded and stroked his lip suggestively.

[A/N: Caution: T+-rated scene ahead!]

She smirked and kissed him softly, then pulled away. He gazed at her and shook his head. He grabbed her and pulled her toward him once again, their lips colliding together. Their bodies filled with passion, while their minds emptied of everything but desire. They fell back on his bed, with Odd on top. He kissed her hurriedly, taking in the sugary scent of her perfume. He licked her bottom lip and she grabbed his blonde-and-purple hair, pulling him as close as possible. She bit his lip and he went mad with yearning. He trailed down to her neck, kissing at first, then biting. Hard. Too hard. She knew it would probably leave a mark, but right now she couldn't care less. She flipped him over and pinned him down, kissing his lips again. She moved to his ear and licked around, then inside. He gasped with pleasure and rolled her back over. She rolled him back and whispered, "I have not yet finished." This sent chills through his body and he eagerly awaited what lay ahead. "My turn." She breathed on his neck and bit him as well. Not hard enough to leave a mark, but enough to turn him on, like he wasn't already. He was already shirtless, and she trailed down his muscular body as far as she could without removing his boxers. She kissed around his stomach, and on it she left her mark, somewhere he could easily cover it up.

"Sure you don't want to go lower," he suggested softly.

She rolled her eyes and made her way back to his ear. "Now you're mine as well." She flicked her tongue inside his ear again.

He made a soft sound. "I was already yours." he whispered breathlessly.

She smiled. "As I am yours."

He rolled on top of her again, pinning her arms. "I'll make you mine right now." he growled with lust. Her eyes widened with alarm. She was powerless to stop him as he held her and kissed her as deeply as he could. "Odd," she said weakly as they took a breath. She meant it to get his attention, but his already-hormone-filled mind took it as pleasure. He bit her neck many more times, and she tried to suppress her moans, but accidentally let one out. The sound encouraged him, and his hands fumbled to remove her shirt. He took it off, and gazed at her hungrily. He touched her body gently and started to remove her bra. "Odd, stop." Her voice was trembling.

He looked at her mischievously. "Stop? You want me to stop?"

She paused for a second. The truth was, she was almost as turned on as he, but she knew that they couldn't cross that line. "Yes. Please stop."

"You're lying. You want it and you know it. That's why you hesitated." He kissed her forcefully again.

"Odd. I mean it. Stop."

"Why should I? We both know you want me, too."

"You promised."

"You have broken promises too."

"That's not fair."

"It is."

"No, Odd. It's not. You can't go back on this one. For me."

Odd raised his voice. "Why not? Why can't we? We love each other and we are never going to want anyone else. So tell me why not."

"Do you want someone to come in here? Lower your voice."

He didn't lower it. In fact, he raised it more. "Don't change the subject." He pinned her down again. "Answer me."

Ulrich moved around, but luckily didn't wake up. "You already know why. Let me go."

"No."

"I said, let me go."

"I said no."

"Let me go now, or I will resort to extremes."

He smirked dangerously. "Such as?"

"Don't mess with me, Odd. Please just let me go. They glared at each other for a few moments, and Odd loosened his grip.

His furious expression turned to one of remorse. "Please don't go. I'm sorry."

"I'm going to let you cool down."

"Please. I really didn't mean to scare you. I just got carried away."

"I understand. I really do. I got a little carried away as well. That doesn't change my mind though. We both need to calm down and get some sleep. Everything will be fine by tomorrow. I love you. Good night."

Odd sighed. "I love you too, Sakura. I'm sorry."

"I know," she said, and crawled out into the night.

…

"Everything all right?"

Sakura smiled grimly at her best friend. "Odd and I had a bit of a fight."

"Fight? You and Odd? No way."

Sakura chuckled. "It's true."

"May I ask what it was about?"

"We got a little too carried away. He wanted to go further, I didn't let him, and he got impatient."

"Impatient? Odd? He's normally so easygoing and supportive."

"Well, he is a guy, and even Odd has limits."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Tell me, are you okay? You have seemed a bit down lately. I didn't want to say anything, but since you brought the subject up..."

"No, I'm okay."

"Tell me."

"Really..."

Sakura stared at Sam. "You're not convincing me. Tell me."

Sam sighed. "I don't know... I guess I'm just a little jealous."

Sakura's eyebrows pushed together. "Jealous? Of what?"

"It's just... You always depended on me for support. Then, when we came here, and you found your old friends, I guess I just felt like you didn't need me anymore."

Sakura's eyes softened. "Sam. You are my best friend. Don't say things like that. Of course I need you here. Not only do I need you here, I want you here too!"

Sam smiled. "I know. That's why I didn't mention it. I knew it was stupid."

"Padawan, you are so silly." Sakura hugged her best friend. "Now let's go to bed and rid ourselves of this crazy day."

"Good idea," Sam replied. And they did.

…

Sakura put her alarm on snooze, something she rarely did. She didn't want to face this day. She didn't fight with Odd. Ever. She didn't know how he was going to react. Was everything really going to be okay like she said, or would he still be upset with her? She knew that if she didn't wake up now, she wouldn't be able to find out.

She groaned, and got up. She looked in her mirror. _Okay, Sakura. You can do this. You love each other, so you'll get through it. Even though Odd was mad, he still remembered how much we love each other, right? So everything will be a-oka... What is that?_

Hickeys. A bunch of them. She pulled on a turtleneck and sighed. Turtlenecks for a week? The school was bound to get suspicious, and who knew what her friends would say. Jeremie probably wouldn't say anything after what Sakura said to him last time. She chuckled at the memory of his red face, telling her to get out. As much as she was embarrassed, she felt a sense of bliss. She was his, and now she had physical proof. She wondered if he had the ones on his stomach still. How she hoped he did. Suddenly the anxiety fled and was replaced by an impulse to go see him. She hurriedly got ready and woke up Sam. She ran out the door, thinking that every second she spent walking was a second wasted, a moment that she'd miss seeing him. She waited at their usual spot. She waited... and waited... and waited... The minutes dragged on until finally she saw his lean figure approaching her.

She got up, ran to him and embraced him like it was the last time she could.

He smiled and took her in his arms. "I thought we were taking it easy," he teased.

"I missed you. And I am so sorr..." Odd put a finger to her mouth.

"Don't. You did nothing wrong. I was the one that was being stupid, and I sincerely apologize. I knew what I was doing when I made that promise, and had no reason to behave like that or get impatient. I love you, so I should act like it. I promise to be better from now on. I'm sorry."

"You're forgiven." She gave him a small kiss.

Odd grinned. "Nice shirt. Is there a reason you're wearing it?" He winked at her.

"I'm wearing this shirt because of you. How's your stomach?"

"All marked up."

"Let me see." She pushed his shirt up slightly. There were a few small marks. "Well, it's better than my neck."

He beamed. "Let me see." She pulled down the turtleneck. He gasped. "Woah."

"That's what I said."

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it."

"Well, I'm not actually that sorry. Proof that we belong to each other."

"For about a week or so."

"I have a plan for that."

"Oh really? And, what, might I ask, does this plan entail?"

"I'm not telling quite yet." An evil glint appeared in his eye.

"Please?"

He stroked her neck gently. "When these fade, I'll renew my claim."

She turned crimson. "Are you planning to keep making these?"

"All in good time, my pretty. All in good time."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, here come Ulrich and Sam. Sam! Ulrich!" Sakura ran up to the two and tackled them in a double-hug. Ulrich cringed and Sam laughed. "How are my best friends in the world doing?"

Ulrich looked at Odd questioningly, and Odd shrugged his shoulders.

Sakura placed her hands on their shoulders. "Isn't it a glorious day? I just want to tell you guys how much I appreciate you helping with my plan. Sam, I know you are tired of my plans, and Jeremie's probably the last person you want to help. Ulrich, I know Yumi forced you to go along with it, but thank you both for your cooperation."

Ulrich nodded and Sam said, "No problem."

Odd looked away from them, toward the boys' dorms. "Here comes Jeremie."

"Hey," Sakura called. "What's up, Weirdo?"

"Hey Sakura," he replied. "Hey Odd. Ulrich. Sam." Everyone greeted him in return. He turned to Sakura. "What's up with you, Sakura?"

"Oh, nothing." She smiled sweetly.

Jeremie looked at the rest of the group for an answer, but they did their best to act clueless.

Yumi entered the scene, and Sakura attacked her with a bear hug as well. "Yumi, my favorite onee-chan! How are you?"

"I'm good. What's up with you?"

"Nothing at all," she winked. Aelita was the last to arrive. "My Princess! Isn't it a beautiful day? Here we all were, waiting for you. Now that the entire group is here, I can present you all with surprise gifts." The team started murmuring and looking around in confusion. "Well, I figured we needed a break from the stress of our everday life – school, XANA, parents – and I came up with an idea. We're going to the carnival! You can't say no because I already bought tickets for all of you." Sakura started passing out tickets. "We'll all meet at the front entrance when it opens. Sound like a deal?"

Everyone nodded, even Jeremie, who was usually the most opposed to taking breaks and having fun.

"Great! I can't wait. This is gonna be so much fun. Remember, it's tomorrow. I hope we all can enjoy ourselves."

"Thanks, Sakura," everyone said.

"Don't mention it. Now you guys better get on to class, or you'll be late."

Everyone dismissed her and walked away, except Odd. "Great job, Blossom. You got even Jeremie to accept them."

"Great job to you, Tiger. Your acting skills paid off."

"I learned from the best," he winked.

"Now go get your butt to class." She pecked him on the cheek.

He stood up straight and saluted. "Ma'am, yes ma'am."

…

"Sweet Pea, I'm so sorry," Sakura coughed. "It looks like you and Jeremie will be the only ones going."

"We couldn't. We don't want to have all the fun while you guys have to stay. Right, Jeremie?" Jeremie nodded firmly.

"No, you have to! I don't want my money to be wasted; I already paid for the tickets. Besides, Jeremie and Aelita, you guys work so hard for us, you're always working on something so you guys deserve this more than anyone."

"I don't know..."

Sakura coughed again. "Please. Go have fun. We can all go out again some other time."

"What if there's a XANA attack," Jeremie suggested. "No one knows the supercomputer like us."

"It's for a few hours. Don't worry so much. Besides, you taught me how to virtualize others and myself, remember? Trust me."

Jeremie eyed her suspiciously. He knew there was an ulterior motive to her generosity, and he had an idea of what that motive might be. But he did want to go have fun, and he did want to be with Aelita, although he wouldn't admit it. "Fine. I'll accept. What about you, Aelita?"

Both Sakura and Aelita stared in surprise. Jeremie said yes. He was the least likely to accept, let alone to be the first.

Aelita smiled. "Then I'll go as well. This will be my first carnival, so I am looking forward to it!"

Sakura's jaw dropped. "You've never been to a carnival?" She turned to Jeremie. "You haven't given her the experience of a carnival yet? Are you out of your mind?"

Jeremie threw his hands up. "Sorry. We've been busy."

"Well, Aelita, you have the chance now, so I hope you enjoy it. They aren't as big as the ones in America, but I hope you enjoy it."

"I know I will. Thank you so much, and I hope you feel better soon, Sakura."

Sakura cleared her throat and looked directly at Jeremie. "Take care of my princess. OR ELSE."

"I will."

Aelita giggled. "You are acting like my parent."

"I can't help it. I just have... a maternal nature."

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "We better get going. If anything happens, call one of us immediately and we'll go back as soon as we can."

"I will. Don't worry. Have fun!" Sakura grinned and skipped off, back to where her friends were eagerly awaiting the news. She got there and flashed a smile. "They accepted!"

Odd beamed and took Sakura in his arms. "Congratulations, Blossom."

Sam smiled. "One of your plans actually succeeded without any flaws this time."

"Thanks gu... SAM!"

Sam burst out laughing and the others had to join in.

Yumi sighed. "Now we wait until they come back. What are we going to do?"

Sakura looked to her right, watching a ripped telephone pole wire ignite a tree and the others around it dancing. "We do what we do best. Fight XANA." The others nodded.

…

Jeremie glared at Sakura.

"Sorry."

Jeremie still glared at Sakura.

"I am sorry."

Jeremie continued glaring at Sakura.

"I said I'm sorry!"

Jeremie's gaze didn't cease, and Sakura got impatient.

"What do you want me to say?"

Jeremie sighed. "I told you to let me know if there was trouble."

"We were fine. We got it taken care of."

"What happened?"

"XANA tore down a bunch of telephone poles and started using the wires to electrocute things, etcetera."

"Did you have problems with the supercomputer?" Jeremie eyed her cautiously, praying that she didn't mess anything up.

"None at all. The only problem I had wasn't not being able to get in on the action," Sakura pouted.

The team rolled their eyes. "How's your sickness?"

"A little better thanks to my Kitty-Kitty's TLC. He forced me to take some cough medicine and I think it's actually working."

Jeremie rolled his eyes. "Well that's good."

"So, how was the carnival, Princess?"

"It was amazing. There were so many things to do!"

"I'm glad you had fun. Jeremie?"

Jeremie stiffened. Sakura eyed him suspiciously – he looked too formal. "I had a really nice time," he said gruffly.

Sakura looked at the two. "Anything interesting happen?"

The two looked at each other. Sakura's eyes widened.

"Well, when we got to the carnival..." Aelita blushed, and Sakura urged her on. "Well, Jeremie and I are..."

Jeremie interrupted. "We're together now," he mumured, blushing slightly, avoiding eye contact with the drama queen.

Sakura almost literally jumped for joy. She squealed and bounced. Sakura grabbed Aelita and crushed the air out of her. "Finally, you guys! It only took forever! Congratulations."

Aelita smiled. "Thank you. It's all thanks to you. I'm sorry that you couldn't go though."

"Well, this makes me happy enough."

_Like that's not what your plan was all along_. Jeremie scoffed.

"Now all three couples are together! The only one that's left is Sam..."

Sam glared at Sakura. "Don't. Even. Think. About it."

Sakura grimaced, crossed her arms and looked away. "Hmmph."

Yumi sighed. "Man, it seems like we're living in fast forward these days."

Odd smirked. _You have no idea_.


End file.
